The top seeded Russian team won the World Team Championship, which finished last month in Antalya, Turkey. The event was an all-play-all between ten selected teams of four players, rather than the large swiss format used in the Olympiad. As the world's strongest chess nation by far, Russia has tended to underperform in team events in recent years, so the win was far from guaranteed. In fact the second round saw the favourites suffer a heavy defeat at the hands of the USA. Russia only took the lead in the penultimate round by defeating the Ukraine, which had lead until that point. The Ukrainians were beaten to second place on tie-break by China, who finished on the same match points but scored more board points.
The final scores were Russia 1st 15/18, 2nd China 14, 3rd Ukraine 14, 4th USA 10, 5th Armenia 10, 6th Netherlands 9, 7th Germany 8, 8th Azerbaijan 7, 9th Turkey 3, 10th Egypt 0.
Today's game is the top board clash between USA and Russia, between the two players vying for the third spot in the world rankings. GM Hikaru Nakamura is White against GM Vladimir Kramnik.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 d5 7.Nf3 dxc4 8.Qxc4 b6 9.Bg5 Ba6 10.Qc3 h6!?
Kramnik has played this solid variation of the Nimzo Indian Defence many times, up to White's rare last move (10 Qa4 is usual). He responds with what looks like a prepared pawn sacrifice, though the course of the game shows that 10... Nbd7 may have been wiser. 11.Bxf6 Qxf6 12.g3 ---
After 12 Qxc7 Rc8 13 Qe5 Qg6! 14 Qf4 Nd7 and the rook is coming to c2 with excellent compensation. 12.--- Bb7 13.Bg2 Na6 14.0-0 c5 15.Rac1 Rac8 16.Ne5! ---
Apparently heading for piece exchanges and a draw, this move is deceptively strong. 16.--- cxd4 17.Qxd4 Bxg2 18.Kxg2 Nc5?!
Black is lulled into a false sense of security, and allows his knight to be driven to an insecure position behind enemy lines. White's advantage lies in his centralised knight and queen compared to their black counterparts, and it is not so easy for black to fully equalise with other moves. e.g. 18... Rfd8 19 Rxc8 Rxc8 20 Rd1 Qe7 21 Qd7 Qxd7 22 Rxd7 Rc7 23 Rd8+ Kh7 24 b4 with a slightly better endgame for White. 19.b4! Nb3 20.Rxc8 Rxc8 21.Qd7! Rf8
Best. After 21... Rd8?! 22 Qc7 the black pieces are in a tangle. 22.f4 Qf5 23.Rf3 Qc2
The knight has no way home and its prospects don't improve with the exchange of queens. 24.Qd3! Qxd3 25.Rxd3 Nc1 26.Rd2 Rc8
The knight won't be captured, but now the black rook is tied to its defence as well as the back rank/f7. 27.h4 h5 28.b5! ---
Fixing the queenside pawns. If black tries to liberate his rook by 28 ... Rc3 then 29 Rd8+ Kh7 30 Nxf7 Nxe2 31 Rh8+ Kg6 32 Ne5+ Kf6 33 Rf8+ Ke7 34 Rf7+ Ke8 35 Rxg7 with advantage. 28.--- Rc7 29.Nc6 Kh7 30.Rb2 a5 31.Kf2 Rd7 32.Ne5 Rc7 33.Rd2 f6
Finally ejecting the knight from it's dominating outpost, but White has calculated a transition to a winning knight endgame. 34.Nd7! Nb3 35.Nf8+ Kg8 36.Rd7 Rxd7 37.Nxd7 Nd4 38.a4 Nxb5!
The only practical chance, otherwise 39 Nxb6 with a protected passed pawn wins easlily for White. 39.axb5 a4 40.Nc5! ---
Without this resource it would be Black who wins – e.g. 40 Nxb6?? a3 queening. Now if 40... bxc5 41 b6 and White queens first – with check. He still has to be careful to keep the black king out while he while he rounds up the a-pawn and wins with his extra piece. 40.--- a3 41.Nb3 a2 42.Ke3 Kf7 43.Kd4 Ke7 44.e4 e5+ 45.fxe5 Ke6!? 46.Na1! fxe5+ 47.Kc3 g5 48.Kb2 gxh4 49.gxh4 Kd6 50.Nb3 Resigns
Russia wins World Team Championship
Problem: White to play and mate in four.
The top seeded Russian team won the World Team Championship, which finished last month in Antalya, Turkey. The event was an all-play-all between ten selected teams of four players, rather than the large swiss format used in the Olympiad. As the world's strongest chess nation by far, Russia has tended to underperform in team events in recent years, so the win was far from guaranteed. In fact the second round saw the favourites suffer a heavy defeat at the hands of the USA. Russia only took the lead in the penultimate round by defeating the Ukraine, which had lead until that point. The Ukrainians were beaten to second place on tie-break by China, who finished on the same match points but scored more board points.
The final scores were Russia 1st 15/18, 2nd China 14, 3rd Ukraine 14, 4th USA 10, 5th Armenia 10, 6th Netherlands 9, 7th Germany 8, 8th Azerbaijan 7, 9th Turkey 3, 10th Egypt 0.
Today's game is the top board clash between USA and Russia, between the two players vying for the third spot in the world rankings. GM Hikaru Nakamura is White against GM Vladimir Kramnik.
1.d4 Nf6
2.c4 e6
3.Nc3 Bb4
4.Qc2 0-0
5.a3 Bxc3+
6.Qxc3 d5
7.Nf3 dxc4
8.Qxc4 b6
9.Bg5 Ba6
10.Qc3 h6!?
Kramnik has played this solid variation of the Nimzo Indian Defence many times, up to White's rare last move (10 Qa4 is usual). He responds with what looks like a prepared pawn sacrifice, though the course of the game shows that 10... Nbd7 may have been wiser.
11.Bxf6 Qxf6
12.g3 ---
After 12 Qxc7 Rc8 13 Qe5 Qg6! 14 Qf4 Nd7 and the rook is coming to c2 with excellent compensation.
12.--- Bb7
13.Bg2 Na6
14.0-0 c5
15.Rac1 Rac8
16.Ne5! ---
Apparently heading for piece exchanges and a draw, this move is deceptively strong.
16.--- cxd4
17.Qxd4 Bxg2
18.Kxg2 Nc5?!
Black is lulled into a false sense of security, and allows his knight to be driven to an insecure position behind enemy lines. White's advantage lies in his centralised knight and queen compared to their black counterparts, and it is not so easy for black to fully equalise with other moves. e.g. 18... Rfd8 19 Rxc8 Rxc8 20 Rd1 Qe7 21 Qd7 Qxd7 22 Rxd7 Rc7 23 Rd8+ Kh7 24 b4 with a slightly better endgame for White.
19.b4! Nb3
20.Rxc8 Rxc8
21.Qd7! Rf8
Best. After 21... Rd8?! 22 Qc7 the black pieces are in a tangle.
22.f4 Qf5
23.Rf3 Qc2
The knight has no way home and its prospects don't improve with the exchange of queens.
24.Qd3! Qxd3
25.Rxd3 Nc1
26.Rd2 Rc8
The knight won't be captured, but now the black rook is tied to its defence as well as the back rank/f7.
27.h4 h5
28.b5! ---
Fixing the queenside pawns. If black tries to liberate his rook by 28 ... Rc3 then 29 Rd8+ Kh7 30 Nxf7 Nxe2 31 Rh8+ Kg6 32 Ne5+ Kf6 33 Rf8+ Ke7 34 Rf7+ Ke8 35 Rxg7 with advantage.
28.--- Rc7
29.Nc6 Kh7
30.Rb2 a5
31.Kf2 Rd7
32.Ne5 Rc7
33.Rd2 f6
Finally ejecting the knight from it's dominating outpost, but White has calculated a transition to a winning knight endgame.
34.Nd7! Nb3
35.Nf8+ Kg8
36.Rd7 Rxd7
37.Nxd7 Nd4
38.a4 Nxb5!
The only practical chance, otherwise 39 Nxb6 with a protected passed pawn wins easlily for White.
39.axb5 a4
40.Nc5! ---
Without this resource it would be Black who wins – e.g. 40 Nxb6?? a3 queening. Now if 40... bxc5 41 b6 and White queens first – with check. He still has to be careful to keep the black king out while he while he rounds up the a-pawn and wins with his extra piece.
40.--- a3
41.Nb3 a2
42.Ke3 Kf7
43.Kd4 Ke7
44.e4 e5+
45.fxe5 Ke6!?
46.Na1! fxe5+
47.Kc3 g5
48.Kb2 gxh4
49.gxh4 Kd6
50.Nb3 Resigns
1-0
Solution: 1 Qxh6+! Kxf5+ (1... Kf7 2 Qh5+ Kg8 3 Qg6+ Kh8 4 Qg7#) 2 Qh7+ Kg5 3 f4#.